North and South Korean officials were set to meet on Saturday, the South said, raising hopes for an end to the standoff that put both sides on the brink of outright war, NBC News and Reuters reported.
The meeting — scheduled for half-an-hour after North Korea's ultimatum demanding that the South halt its loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the border or face military action — will be held in Panmunjom village, a neutral zone on their tense border. Kim Kyu Hyun, deputy director of national security for South Korea's presidential office, made the announcement of the meeting on South Korean television.
South Korea's national security adviser and unification minister will meet with Hwang Pyong-so, the top military aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and an senior official who handles inter-Korean affairs at 6 p.m. Seoul time (5.00 a.m. ET), South Korean officials said.
